Bjorn did not like the fact they would have to travel in the general direction of the wolves territory. However, Freja was adamant that they could not go back around the cliffside in the completely opposite direction. It would take them back into the Salstar domain and she was sure that if she did that her father would have her killed. Wolves on both sides of the crag.
Bjorn was meticulous in his role as her guide; the last thing he wanted was anything that would further endanger her. He and Failsafe kept their heads on a swivel using all of their senses to their maximum. The canopy overhead kept the view largely shaded which wasn't good when you are looking out for shadow wolves.
The forest grew so dark that Freja had to hold onto Bjorn's tail. She nearly tripped multiple times on roots hidden beneath the layer of leaves and brambles. A skirt was definitely not the best thing to wear out in the middle of thick forest, not that Freja had a choice. Bjorn heard her curse a few times when something scratched against her legs.
Bjorn found it more difficult to navigate now that he no longer had his compass. He would use the connection to Freja in the cave as a means to point him in the right direction. He didn't realize how much he had been relying on that to keep away from the wolves' territory. The forest looked the same in every direction so he had to follow the scent of water to hopefully make it to the bayou.
"Can you tell where we are?" Bjorn asked mentally.
"Kind of but there isn't much in the way of landmarks." Failsafe stated. "Maybe that is a future design for our system, a mental map or something. Oh, no, that would require divination magic… or would it? Remind me to come back to this subject later."
"Yeah, definitely that sounds incredibly useful." Bjorn thought but heard the snap of a twig. "Shh."
He stopped which caused Freja to nearly run into him. She knelt down beside him when she noticed he was looking around even more furiously. The air grew tense, almost hard to breathe when Bjorn noticed there were no birds chirping or the scents of other animals nearby. That is when he saw a large silver wolf observing him in the distance. There was no scent, no trace of magic, no sound accompanying the beast. It was simply out of his range and watching him down wind.
Bjorn hissed which caused Freja to look around for any sign of danger. She didn't see anything between the brush but knew there were shadow wolves and probably wouldn't until it was too late. Bjorn started walking and she followed closely behind still holding on to his tail. He slowly picked up speed and she had to circulate her mana throughout her muscles, a common trait of the wendigo. Which caused her to think about the mental projection of her skills for a heartbeat.
Mana Muscle Saturation
Magic cost: 1
Push your mana into your muscles and bones to temporarily increase your physical attributes.
She never considered mana muscle saturation a spell as it was just a natural ability of her people. Julie and Mat were amazed at how strong her people were. However because her body had a chaotic magic core she could not keep up with others of her own species. Her magic would only allow her physicality to increase by a small margin.
All of that had changed thanks to Bjorn and the familiar contract. As she circulated the refined mana into herself from her core she felt every one of her senses increase by an order of magnitude. The forest was no longer dark, she could hear the pattering of feet in the distance. She could smell the aromas of different beasts closing in around her.
She could tell Bjorn wasn't running at his top speed, most likely trying not to leave her behind. She felt lighter than air running while through the forest. Her confidence told her she could keep up with him and in fact she was probably faster than him. She turned and saw what had Bjorn panicking, the steel wolf was following them from far off in the distance. It didn't seem to want to get closer but was definitely herding them towards something.
"Bjorn run I can keep up." Freja yelled.
Bjorn obliged and increased his speed considerably. He was surprised at Freja's, speed and reflexes; she navigated the forest side by side with him like she was a professional nature survivalist. Bjorn had to focus on the taste of water in the air. They were still very far off at least thirty minutes away. That is when he tasted shadow wolf magic and it was dangerously close.
"Bjorn ahead of us." Failsafe yelled.
Bjorn saw the wolf waiting in ambush right as Failsafe alerted him. The fur of the creature blended it into the shadows near flawlessly. He had mere moments to react and no time to alert Freja. He had to act and do it quickly. Time seemed to slow down as he saw the beast lunge forward not at him but towards Freja. Bjorn jumped into the air, catching a tree trunk and jumping off changing his trajectory in an instant.
Blood and pain erupted as Bjorn crashed into the wolf nearly twice his size. The jaws of the wolf only missing Freja's neck by inches. The creature was caught completely off guard but it's instincts were sharp and it snapped and clawed as Bjorn wrapped his body around the wolf and they fell to the ground. Bjorn bit the creature over and over but his venom isn't instant. Freja directs one of the twenty pound stones into the wolf's head which popped like a watermelon under a hammer. In her haste she forgot to let go of the stone with the wind hand causing it to disperse.
"Fuck, Bjorn are you okay?" Freja said as she picked the dead wolf up off of him so he could crawl out.
Bjorn squawked as Freja frantically resummoned the wind hand and picked up the now bloody stone. As soon as she was done Bjorn started running again Freja right behind him. The fight had been short but he didn't get out of it unscathed. He had several lacerations along his body but adrenaline and his healing factor kept him going. He knew that the most important thing to do now was to keep going.
The shadow wolf magic was everywhere now and the steel wolf was drawing closer. Bjorn knew the steel wolf was also a familiar thanks to Freja and it seemed to have some intelligence in its organization of the other wolves. That surprise attack was meant to kill Freja who between the two of them could be a bigger threat given she is a magic caster. He also believed that might be the reason it is staying back and corralling them towards something.
"Shit-shit, Bjorn, ahead of us." Freja exclaimed.
Two more wolves were waiting ahead of them, not even using their magic to conceal themselves. They didn't get any closer and instead stood there growling and baring their teeth. They were there to stop them from running towards the water and with the steel wolf now charging towards them they had no choice but to turn and go deeper into the wolves territory.
"They are leading us somewhere." Failsafe stated.
"Yes-yes, I know." Bjorn responded.
"Well what are we going to do once we get there?" Failsafe asked.
"Poison puff." Bjorn stated. "We get Freja to climb up a tree or something out of the reach of the…"
Searing pain is all the familiar felt as he was lifted into the air. Everything went silent for a second as in the next second he was picking himself off the ground. His blood escaped him in pools as he struggled to understand what just happened. He looked around to take stock of the situation and saw the steel wolf was standing over him although it jumped back as a rock flew by in the place it was a moment prior.
It had caught up to them and bit down on his body and lifted him in the air before getting hit in the side by one of Freja's stones. She just saved his life but he was no longer in a condition to run. Freja ran to him spinning the stones around herself in a fast orbit to dissuade any sudden attacks. The entire remaining pack was now standing in an angry growling semicircle around the pair. Freja was saying something but Bjorn could not hear anything.
It was now or never and with some struggle he managed to stand. Freja tried to stop him but he whipped at her with his long tail to keep her back. He pulled the mana from his core and realized this was going to be his first time using this magic. The first time Failsafe performed poison puff while he kept them firmly clasped onto the tree.
The sensation wasn't what he imagined it would be. His mouth and throat felt hot as the mana continued to react and change. The familiar took in a deep breath as the heat became a pain that burned with every heartbeat. Then he released and from his mouth didn't come the poison puff like he had expected. No, instead came a sickly green fire which flowed from his mouth in a wide bloom. The raging inferno shifted in coloration to a somber purple as his magic cracked within it like violet lightning.
Bjorn, Failsafe and Freja all exclaimed at the same time. "What the fuck?"